Preparation

If using dried morels, soak in warm water to cover 30 minutes. Agitate dried morels in soaking water or fresh morels in cold water to dislodge grit, then lift from water, squeezing out excess. Pat dry with paper towels. Cut morels (fresh or dried) crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

Bring broth and water to a boil in a 4-quart pot. Add asparagus and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer asparagus with a slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, then drain and pat dry. Reserve 1 cup broth mixture for ragout and keep remaining broth at a bare simmer.

Cook onion in oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add wine and simmer briskly, stirring constantly, until absorbed, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup hot broth mixture and simmer briskly, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed. Continue simmering and adding hot broth mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until rice is just tender and creamy-looking, 18 to 22 minutes. (There will be leftover broth mixture. Reserve for thinning risotto.)

Stir cheese, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper into risotto, then remove from heat and let stand, covered, while making ragout.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté morels and garlic, stirring occasionally, until garlic is pale golden, about 4 minutes. Pour in 1 cup reserved broth and bring to a boil. Stir in peas, asparagus, zest, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add remaining 2 tablespoons butter, swirling skillet until butter is incorporated, then season ragout with salt and pepper.

Thin risotto to desired consistency with some of leftover broth and season with salt and pepper. Divide risotto among 4 shallow bowls. Spoon asparagus and morel ragout (with liquid) on top and sprinkle with chives.

Cooks' note:

Dried morels can be soaked and patted dry 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.

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Reviews

Underwhelming. There should have been more morels (6 oz?) or less asparagus and risotto. The morels should have been simmered in their strained soaking water at least 10 minutes, not fried 4 minutes. Or else another kind of mushroom could have been used. The morels were pretty but their special flavor was lost. The lemon is an important note in the dish.

I used shallots
instead of a regular
onion, vegetable
broth instead of
chicken, cooked the
asparagus about 1/2
the time the recipe
called for, and used
slightly less lemon.
This is a good,
basic recipe that
can easily be played
around with, and
I'll definitely use
it as a standby from
now on.

It's the first risotto I've made. Maybe a bit too ambitious(?) but I can say it wasn't a disaster!
1) I used a dried mushroom mix from D'Artagnan and added additional dried porcini mushrooms. Fresh morels would've cost an arm and a leg.
2) I admit, I'm never quite sure how to use frozen vegetables, other than frozen peas. The fresh asparagus at the grocery stores just didn't look good, nor were their stalks slim. So I bought frozen asparagus stalks. I didn't like the way they turned out - not completely mushy but not quite as firm as I like my asparagus to be. Next time, if I can't find good fresh asparagus, I'll probably just omit them from the recipe. and I think I'd do as the previous commenter said - put them in right at the end.
3) I loved the ragout. Looking back, I would've probably tried to double it. Yummy.

This was good, but
the asparagus was
too cooked for my
taste (cooking in
the beginning and
at the end again).
I would just throw
it in at the end
and cook 2-3
minutes at that
time. The lemon
zest really pulled
this together -
don't leave it out!

A really solid recipe. I made it for Easter and it was a great accompaniement for ham (easily served 5 with leftovers.) Next time I'll 1/2 the lemon zest (a bit overpowering), add more garlic (probably 2 cloves), add more parmesan and a little fresh thyme and tarragon.